The Paths Less Chossen
by RalfWaldoPickleChips
Summary: After the war Hermione decides that she need to start her own life, completely isolated from the people who cares for her. Inviting Harry over to tell him, he doesnt take the news as well as as she hoped and storms off. That was the last time that she saw him, until 5 years later when she returns to her roots and finds that nothing is the same as it was before she left.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1. The Departure

" What do you mean that you're leaving?" Harry shouted as he watched Hermione floating all of her luggage towards the door. She had invited him over to tell him something important but that was the last thing that he thought that it would be.

Her flat was nothing fancy just a normal sized apartment with two rooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a living area. All of the books that usually sat on the shelves on the wall were now gone along with what little furniture she had. The normally cozy apartment was now dark and gloomy and emotions ran high.

Hermione could see the hurt look in his eyes and it took everything that she had not to rush over to him and evelope him in one of her signature rib crushing hugs. " I cant stay here any more. I have to go now, and I felt that you should be the first one to know."

" I dont understand! Why are you leaving? After everything that we've been through me, Ron, and you have been through so much!" he begged. " Why are you abandoning me?"

" That's the reason why right there! Even when talking about us I always come last out of the trio! Harry, Ron, and then Hermione; that's the way that it has always been and I cant stand it anymore. Poor sidekick Hermione always overshadowed by the other two!" There was a type of venom to her voice that cut him deeper than any blade or spell had.

Harry stared at her in disbelief " What are you talking about? You're always the helpful one! You discovered the basilisk, helped save Sirius and Buckbeak in third year. All of the training you helped me with fourth year saved my ass in the tournament, not to mention you were there at my side when we stormed the ministry! Please dont go. . . I need you!"

Hermione's eyes started to fill up with tears at that last part. " No you don't, not anymore. Everything that I could have helped you with is finished. Voldemort is done and the war is over, now its time that if find a starting place for my own life."

" You're my best friend Hermione! You were the one that has been through everything with me no matter what! When Ron left it was just us and now you're abandoning me?" he pressed his back against the wall and sank to the floor. " How many years have we been friends?"

Her voice cracked as she answered. " Seven."

He looked up at her, " Then why are you throwing it away as if it was nothing!"

" Why dont you understand that I have to do this! You just became the unofficial leader of Magical Britain you could probably walk in Ministry and do anything that you please. Now you have a girlfriend and the Weasleys love you as if you were sporting the same red hair that they do! Where do I fall in line there? Do you know what I have?" she practically hissed through her tears.

" YOU HAVE ME!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. At this point there were tears falling down his chin onto the floor as he sobbed.

She looked down at him but turned back towards the door. " That isn't enough anymore. I have to find my place in this world thats not behind the shadow of the Boy-Who-Lived. I dont have a life of my own, ive just been your sidekick for as long as we've been friends."

" I never wanted to be the hero you know that right? I didn't need a sidekick, I needed a friend and thats what you were to me. I didnt want to have to fight a crazy dark lord until I was the only member left of my family. My parents, Sirius, Hedwig, even Dobby are all dead because of something that some seer predicted before I was even born. I dont have a family anymore, the Weasleys are trying to show me something that I never had before." he whispered in such a low and sad tone that it took Hermione a second to process what he had said.

" Harry that not what I me-" she started but he cut her off before she was able to finish her thoughts.

" I never forced you to tag along, you always chose to of your own free will! I never once asked you to put your life on the line for me, or to endanger yourself in one of my adventures but yet there you were every single time." He said, " You said you lived in my shadow but it was us living in yours. Hermione is the brightest witch of our age, number one in every class, always keeping a cool head and knowing what we should do next. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you and now you are going to leave me behind."

She was speechless when he finished but her face took a determined look and she quickly retorted. " I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the fact that you saved me from that troll first year! I wouldn't have been much help on the other end of that club and even back then you were protecting me! I would expect you of all people to be happy that i'm trying to be independent here!"

He looked at her in shock, " You can stay and be independent!"

" No I can't! Everyone here already knows me as one of your closest friends and that means they would do anything to help me. If you asked them to they would probably make me the bloody Minister of Magic before you finished asking! Every door is open just because of my connection to you and I don't want that! I need to know that everything that I get is based on the fact that I was good enough to get there, not just because of your influence." She took a step back as he slowly got up off of the floor.

He walked over to the window and his outline was given more definition when a streak of lightning broke across the sky. Even from behind he looked ragged and worn down, the complete opposite of the cheery person who had shown up at her door less than an hour before. She couldn't remember a time that he had looked so tired and old as he did now. " Please Harry try to be happy for me. This will be a good thing for the both of us!"

" Then just leave! Go and live your life free of me and Ron, and bury all of us in your past! It's obvious that nothing that im going to be able to say is going to stop you from going so just go. I dont want to hear anything anymore." He pointed his wand at the door and it flew open just as Ron's figure appeared in the doorway. Hemione looked at him in shock and then back at Harry.

Not sensing the tension in the room the ever ubsensitive redhead just walked up to Hermione. " Hey you had something to tell me? And why is Harry here?"

" No reason Ron, I was just about to leave anyway." Harry said as he brushed past them and into the hallway.

Hermione stood there for a second before she started to chase after him. " HARRY WAIT!" she called as she ran down to the first level with Ron and her bags quickly in tow. Right as she pushed the door open to the outside she saw Harry disappear with almost no sound whatsoever. Sinking to her knees, she just watched the place where Harry once stood and tried to contemplate how she just lost the best thing that she had in her life.


	2. Chapter 2

Chap 2. Work, Weasleys and Whiskey

**A/N-Hey everyone! Thanks for the reviews I just love how they were all positive about my first chapter so I hope that I can continue to impress. Now I really didn't say anything about this story on the first chapter and I probably should have( silly me and my first FanFic Noobisim.) First of all I understand that there are many people who is condemn a FanFic if it sports a god like super Harry. Well this isn't one of those, the Harry in this one is skilled, for reasons you will soon find out about, and he is just as powerful in not a little more so that Dumbledore and Voldemort were. Also this isnt going to be a " OMG, im so sorry for leaving please throw me on the ground and ravish me) in the first three chapters fic either. While it will happen later and it might be graphic, Harry and Hermione are grow ass people now. They do have a falling out like the one that they just had and the decided to be friends the next day. It just dont work that way in the real world, sorry. As way im taking away from the story so go ahead my children and READ!**

Two of the master leveled dummies were thrown back against the wall on the far side of the practice arena! There were two throwing knives and a tomahawk sticking out of each of their chests along with a shuriken in the middle of their foreheads. A third and fourth one were ducking and dodging while shooting nasty looking spells at their ever moving enemy. Harry easily weaved in and out of the spells like they were coming from first years while sending back enough to match both of them. Jumping out of the way of a particularly nasty chopping hex he slashed his wand downwards and the ground started to split apart swallowing one of the dummies before closing itself back up.

Now that there was only one of them left Harry decided that he was going to try something that he hadn't done in a while. Slowing down until he was exactly opposite of the dummy he stopped shooting off spells of his own and just started deflecting everything that it sent his way. Now these weren't the normal training dummies that you could just go out a bye for a pretty knut or two, no these were specially made by the Department of Mysteries to be able to shoot over one hundred and eighty spells per minute if they were not being fired upon and to top it all off they each had over two hundred spells that they could use at any given time. Now that it was no longer on the defensive it was able to throw curses at its fullest potential, which made deflecting them damn near impossible. But then again, he was the king of doing the impossible after he was told that he wouldn't be able to it. His favorite so far was when he went in alone to collect the fifty ancient vampire that had made a home in Transylvania about a year after he had joined the Unspeakables.

It was a mere two day's later that he came back with a new necklace made of one hundred individual fangs. Of course he was questioned about why he wasn't able to bring back any of the vampires but his only reply was that they wouldn't come without lethal force. He quickly rose the ranks in the DoM until Saul Croaker was the only Unspeakable that was a higher rank than him. Unlike the other Unspeakables Harry never had a partner unless Croaker didn't gave him a choice and when a situation like that happened Croaker was the said partner.

Deciding to end it, Harry deflected a severing curse straight up into the air. Forcing his magic into his legs he jump higher than what should have been possible for any human. His augmented movements were faster than the dummy could keep up with and it didn't have time to move as Harry caught up with the severing curse and deflected it again but this time right towards it. The spell hit it and cleaved the dummy clean in half. Taking off his mask, he wiped what little sweat was on his face before turning to the now decent sized group of Unspeakables who had come to watch him. He was forced to suppress a grin when he saw Croaker going around collecting money from people who had bet against him. It reminded him of back when he was at school and the twins used to run bets all of the time.

Now that he thought about it it had been a while since he had seen the twins or any other Weasley except for Ron in a while. The only reason that he had even seen Ron in the last fortnight was because the auror department had to call in the help of the Unspeakables when the last of Greybacks pack attacked a small muggle town. After that was wrapped up they went for drinks at a pub in central London and caught up at on what had been going on in their lives. Ron was now working right under the new head of the DMLE so girl by the name of Amy Vinesworth. Harry had never talked to the woman even though he had seen her throughout the ministry. The best part of being second in the department was that he didn't have to deal with all of the people the Croaker did. He remembered laughing when Ron told him that he looked way to skinny for his own good and that he should come to one of the Weasley's infamous weekly dinners so his mother could fatten him up.

Harry had politely declined, ever since he and Ginny had their fall our Harry didn't show up at the Burrow unless it was a birthday, holiday or special occasion. Every time he came back though he was embraced with warm welcomes but Ginny would still shoot him a look of longing and sadness every now and again when she thought that he wasn't looking. She was dating Dean again and was getting a little better about doing it every time that he came over but until she was able to break the habit completely he wouldn't be showing up for any of the weekly meals. He did promise to stop in after work sometime in the near future. That had been two weeks ago and he had yet to go over there. Sighing he made his way to his office and swapped his battle robes for causal black ones.

" Harry any plans for tonight?" Croaker asked him as he made his way towards the elevator.

Harry turned around to face the shorter man before answering. " Yeah, I kinda promised the Weasleys that I would stop by tonight for just a little while. After that i'll probably go pub jumping until I get drunk enough to take someone home. Why did you need something?"

" Nothing to important. There is a new Hit-Wizard from America that might be switching departments and needs shown around the depths of the ministry, and since you seem to only be busy busting my practice dummies I figured that you would be the man for the job." Croaker laughed at the sarcastic look of excitement that Harry was giving him.

" Croaker in the four years that ive been working in the DoM what has made you think that I would be the caretaker for any of the lackeys that decide to come down here. Hell Hit-Wizard is just a fancy word for ' I get to strut about everywhere that I want to and bug people about how good of a duelist I am.' How the hell did it even get to the point that they were given clearance down here?" If there was one thing that Harry hated more than having to talk to the other ignorant ministry workers, it was having to show the new people how to get around effectively. They were always so giddy and talkative that half of them didn't make it through half of the tour without having to find someone else to show them. Not being a people person, there was only so many questions, Oooo's and Ahhh's that he could take before going off on a rampage. It had been over a year since the last time that he had given a tour. " If anything they should be inducted before they are allowed to step onto this level in the first place."

" Well I know that you have a different woman in your bed every night or so. I remember the one time your brought back three different girls, and at different points in the night too! This one is a pretty little number so I was just looking out for you." He grinned. " Plus she's transferring over from America. You know how much the yank girls love a British accent.

Harry just stared at him. " Just have Clancy, or Tyler do it! I have to get going."

" Oh no, even if she has to wait until tomorrow you will be showing them around. Clancy is in the middle of remaking the time turners and Tyler is working on a spell that gets through wards without setting them off." He stated in his 'Im still in charge around here so you do as I say voice.'

" Please that voice might work with the newer people but we both know that the reason I just don't take your place is because I dont feel like dealing with the Minister or his underlings. If its that important to you I will do it, but in return i want a fourth of tonights winnings." He said holding out his hand.

Both he a Croaker knew that he didn't need the money by any means. Hell he could probably buy the Ministry itself with his bank account with everything that was left to him by his parents, Sirius, and the Slytherin vault. Since he was the one who killed the last heir to the line after some dealing with the goblins he was able to convince them to let him claim the vault. No this was more about not just giving into his demands and wanting something in return. " I'll be here around. . . whenever the hangover potion kicks in. If they aren't ready then, well thats their problem not mine." Harry said as Croaker handed over 73 galleons. This would definitely pay for whatever drinks that he wanted tonight. While to most people 73 galleons was a very large sum of money, Unspeakables had just about as big a salary that you could possibly get in the Ministry. The lower ranked Unspeakables were paid just a few thousand less that the the Heads of the other departments, while others like Croaker and Harry were on par with that of the Minister.

Giving his superior one last look Harry took the elevator up to the lobby. Donning his hood so that no one would be able to notice him he quickly made his way to the nearest floo network. Secrecy was about the most important thing that was kept in the DoM. Only other Unspeakables were able to know who you were and even then some of the higher ups kept their real names a secret from them as well. It wouldn't be very secretive if someone was able to walk up to and Unspeakable in the street and after and imperious or a slipped truth serum was able to find out everything that they were doing down there. Harry didn't care who in the department knew and really wouldn't care if anyone on the outside knew what he was to be perfectly honest. There were very few people in Wizarding Britain with both the power and skill to keep up with him on a bad day and the closest person would probably be the man that had he had just finished talking to but then again, Harry wouldn't want to go up again his old transfiguration teacher either. She might be old but anyone who could hold back Voldemort for any decent amount of time was an excellent duelist in his his opinion. That reminded him that he had promised her to come by and check in every now and again. He almost felt ashamed when he realized that it had been over five months since his last visit.

He quickly walked out of the building and once he was passed the anti-apparation wards he disappeared without a sound. A few second later he was in his flat. Landing in a roll he came up with both of his wand drawn, each tip glowing with the energy of a spell ready to be cast. Seeing that no one or thing was here besides him he holstered both of them before banishing his robe into the dirty laundry bin. With a wave of his hand a towel and set of clothes flew towards him and he walked into the bathroom for a quick shower. Most wizards didn't both with shower's after they learned the Scourgify spell, but Harry always felt much better after a nice hot shower. Fifteen minutes later he was in the floo heading for the Burrow.

As soon as his feet hit the ground he was in a bone crushing hug. " HARRY YOU DARLING LITTLE LAD! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Mrs. Weasley squealed before letting him out of the vice grip.

" Sorry its been so long. Ive been busy at work lately." He told her which really wasn't a lie. He had just finished a case where the biggest stash of dark and illegal items for the last century was found. A few of the Death Eaters that had gotten away after Voldemort's downfall were pooling their assets at one place. Since he had been keep up on all of the ones that the Ministry didn't put away in Azkaban it wasn't to hard to find out what they were doing.

" You are always working so hard now a days. I never knew that overseas shipping was such a big thing." She told him. That was his cover job, the owner of a worldwide shipping service that could and would ship anything that you could think of. It would explain the amount of money that he had, and any weird gadgets that he might accidentally let people see him with.

" Yeah it is. We've expanded this last month and that's always a hassle at first." He told her as Ginny and the twins walked into the door.

" HARRY!" all three of them yelled in unison before enveloping him in a Weasley sandwich.

Taking a step back he looked at the twins which a cheeking grin. " Whats got you so happy Harry?" George started.

" One would think that you know something we dont." Fred finished and a second later the paint bombs that they tried to stow away in Harry's pockets during the hug went off in each of their pants. Fred was covered head to toe in green paint while George was wearing a nice shade of pink

Harry did bow to both of them and then Ginny who was almost on the floor dying with laughter. They both looked at each other with a shock at the fact that their prank had been switched back on them so easily. Throwing themselves on their knees, they started to praise him.

" Please oh pranking god!"

" Teach us your ways!"

" Please, such pranksters like us are unworthy to stand in your presence." The last sentence they finished together making it even funnier.

" I guess that I can teach you a few thing over a drink of two. Me and Ron are heading to a pub out in London tonight and you three are more than welcome to join us. He is supposed to be bring Lavender so I could use some company." he asked.

Fred and George looked at one another with a pondering look on their faces but Ginny was the first people to break the silence. " Sorry Harry but I im working a double tonight, maybe next time alright?" She said giving a longing look and a quick peck on the cheek.

" What about you two?" He questioned.

" Well it has been a while since we last got out."

" Plus with you around we are sure to pick up the ladies."

" And we do enjoy the ladies."

" So yes we'll go with you!"

Harry just rolled his eyes, " Well you better get cleaned up because im not taking either of you anywhere looking like that."

With matching looks of horror of going out looking as they did, the both raced up the stairs towards their room. Walking over to the stove Harry conjured a fork and pick off a juicy looking lamb chop. It was honestly the best thing that he had eaten since he didn't know when. He was an amazing cook himself after all those years with the Dursley's but there was something that just made Mrs. Weasley's food taste better. He knew that the Hogwarts house elves would probably accept a salary if they could get a hold of some of her cookbooks. The twins came bustling down the stair right as he swallowed the last of it. " You guys ready to go?"

" As ready as we'll ever be." the both his head he grabbed each of them by the wrist and they all three vanished.

When they reappeared they were in the middle of a large club with loud music playing a people dancing everywhere. Strobe lights flashed randomly along with the music making it look like something out of a movie. Yelling at the twins to follow him, he walked them over to the bar were Ron, Lavender were at. What surprised him was that sitting there talking to the couple were Neville and Luna.

" Hey, looks like the gangs all here!" Ron shouted in delight when he saw Harry and the twins approaching. " Finally we can party!"

All of them ordered drinks and toasted to that. As the night progressed they all talked about how they had been doing in between more drinks, dancing, and a few disappearances from one person or another from the group. Lavender drug Ron off about an hour after everyone had got there and it was a good thirty minutes before either was seen again. Harry noticed the grin on Ron's face and mangy look his hair was now in. After that the twins ironically found another set of twins and they took it to the dance floor. The group joked about their antics as the kept switching partners back and forth until none of them knew who they were dancing with.

By the time that the bar was closing the group was as smashed as they could be. Harry had finished off an entire bottle of Blishen's Firewhisky and was holding on to half a bottle of Goblin Ale which no one but him would even take a swig of. Despite the ridiculous amount that he had drank he was the only one who wasn't stumbling around like an idiot.

" Hey Harry, wanna meet up after work tomorrow?" Ron asked him as he threw his arm around Harry's shoulder for support.

Harry looked at his friend before apparating a foot to the side so his arm was no longer around him. " Sorry Ron, were getting a new intern tomorrow and I have to show her the ropes. I have no idea what time ill be finished but it will probably be late. Maybe some other time."

Giving a slurred answer that Harry nor any of the others could understand Ron popped away with Lavender at his side. Harry turned and quickly gave Luna a hug and Neville a quick handshake before they too disappeared. Turning around and seeing that Fred and George were occupied with the other set of twins, Harry gave them a thumbs up and apparated away. He appeared in his flat again with both wands drawn and again there was no one else but him. For a second he wondered why it was that he had gotten into that silly habit but the answer came as quick as the question. Because a good man once told him to keep constant vigilance and that advice had saved his life more than once, if it was good enough of Mad-eye they it was good enough for him. Looking down at the bottle in his hand he took another big swig of it and banished it to his personal bar along with other half drunk bottles of various types of alcohol both muggle and wizarding alike. If someone didn't know better they would think that he was trying to start his own pub with the amount of booze that he had stacked along the shelves. Giving a huff he plopped down on recliner, not having the energy to make it to his bed. With a snap of his fingers, his robes changes into night clothes and he was sleeping before the blanket that he summoned fell on top of him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3. Unknowingly Reunited

**A/N- Hey everyone im back with another chapter. Im happy that ive been able to spit them out as quickly as I have been but im sorry to say that the two and three day updates are going to be pushed back a bit. I am hoping that I will be able to give you one a week minimum but with my schedule starting to get busier I will write whenever I get a chance. Thanks for all the reviews and hopefully ill be getting more soon. If you actually ready the A/Ns then when ever you finish this chapter go and send me a review im always looking for feedback. Hope you like the chapter.**

Harry awoke with a start after the post owl nipped him ear in order to wake him up. Rubbing his eyes he looked at the bird contemplating on whether or not it would be humane to lock it in the oven and turn it on. The cheeky bird seemed to be able to tell what he was thinking and let out a call that seemed to close to a laugh for Harry. " I guess you bloody well want paid dont you?"

He pulled a sickle off of the lamp table and tossed it to the bird who dove to catch it. Watching it fly out the window, Harry got up grabbed a towel. After a quick shower he sat down for his breakfast, and one of his stronger hangover potions. He made his way over to the table and let his face drop to the wooden surface as he waved his finger around making everything that he needed come toward him. A bottle of hangover potion that he had himself and two headache relief potions zoomed out of his potions lab and over to the table as eggs cracked themselves into a pan. Two knifes were cutting up ham and cheese that went on top of the eggs and two oranges started squeezing themselves. Five minutes later and potions drank Harry finally looked up at his clock which read 3:47 on the face. He felt much better but not even hangover potion can fully relieve the aftereffects of that much magical alcohol. Instead of being trampled by a herd of hippogriffs and pissed on by a ashwinder, it seemed like he had taken a troll's club to the side of the head.

Throwing on his work clothes he made sure to grab his mask that he usually left at home. Since he was going to have to show the newbie around he would have to have something to conceal his face. The others would as well, until she was 100% approved for the position. The others to wear masks that they were given but him being second in command got to choose a mask to wear and he personally liked his. It was a purple masquerade mask, with a golden plating around one of the eyes and on the edges, the eyes were only a little larger than slits and really didn't give much vision but that hardly mattered because the entire inside of the mask was charmed so that to him it didn't look like there was anything on his face. It reminded him of a one way mirror except his mask could be changed to see people's auras, through invisibility cloaks, disillusions, walls, and pretty much anything else that they could think of. The only visual object that could have rivaled his mask was Mad-Eye's eye but then he died before Harry could find out how the old auror made it. Placing it on his he activated the aura sight charm, and stepped into the fire yelling his destination and leaving the now empty flat.

Walking gracefully out of the floo he didn't stop a beat until he was in the elevator and making his way down to the DoM. Once the elevator opened he looked around scanning everyone's magical reading and storing it to memory. If there was ever a time for someone to get into the DoM unnoticed then it would be today when no one could show their faces. Making his way to Croaker's Office he couldn't help but feel on edge with everyone in masks. He knew that it was required but for obvious reasons he didn't like masks unless he was the one who was wearing them. Closing the door he turned to face the man.

" Croaker, do you have any of the scotch that I gave you for your birthday? I could really use it to cool my nerves, you know how much I hate being around everyone in these damn masks." He stated.

Gaining a cough Harry noticed that Croaker wasn't alone but who he could only guess was the Hit Wizard, well in this case witch, was sitting on the other side of the room with a book in her hand. She to was wearing a mask for whatever reason. She had long black hair that fell from behind it but Harry could tell that it was a dye. " It's wonderful for you to join us at the early time of," He started before looking at his watch, " Four in the afternoon."

" Be glad that the post owl had a letter to bring me or god knows when I would have been up. Told you not to be expecting me anytimes early. I drank enough to kill a small unicorn last night, my extra strength hangover potion, and two headache relief potions only knocked it down about halfway." He said as he found the scotch and poured himself a shot. Downing it in a quick gulp he looked toward the Hit Witch who was also wearing a mask. " So I guess that you are the lackie that im being forced to babysit for the evening?"

" If you're asking if i'm the person applying of the open unspeakable position then yes thats me." she said in a cheeky tone that matched his own.

Downing another shot he replied. " There is no "open" position. If we want you then we go looking for you, this isnt a normal job where you just get fired and we look for a replacement. We are always as full as we want to be and never dont have enough, we just think that you could be an asset."

Closing the book she looked up at him. " And who exactly is we?"

" In your case, Croaker is "we". Since you won't be working in my department then I dont care if you're here or not. I personally think that since you'll most likely be in Attack Squadron then someone from there should have to show you around but I guess im being punished for breaking their toys."

" Yes you are!" Croaker said stepping in. " Do you know how long it is going to take them to fix those training dummies? A week, a freaking week!"

" Wait why do you just assume that im going to be in this "Attack Squadron or whatever it is?" She asked.

Harry scoffed at her question. " Your a Hit Witch, in other words, you have to be a damn good duelist. That's were most of the Unspeakable's more advanced duelist go. They make you better and get that whole, look at me and how much of a badass I am, ego smacked right out of you."

" So why pick that type of attitude with me if that the department i'll most likely end up end?" she asked which a hit of mirth on her face.

" I sorry I dont follow." he said, looking at Croaker who was just sitting there chuckling at the antics before him.

" Well you said that the most advanced duelist in the Unspeakables go there. Well since that's not you're department and you think that I will end up there, that means you hold my dueling skills above your own." she finished triumphantly until he started laughing like a maniac. What really had her confused was the fact that Croaker was also chuckling at her statement.

" What did I tell you Croaker? She has the 'Im better than everyone else' syndrome bad." He laughed. " Listen girly, I didn't say all, I said most of the best duelist end up there. No one in that department hs been able to take more than two of their master level training dummies, and thats after training. Im having to walk you around today because they are busy fixing the FOUR that I demolished yesterday for fun." He said pouring more into the glass he set the bottle down and walked over to her before continuing. " Do you know how I became second in command after only four days of being here?"

Looking up at the man with a little smirk she replied. " I would love for you to tell me."

" I beat everyone else. Its that simple really, if you want to get higher up in the ranks then you start challenging people to the dueling platform. That's my advice to you, but don't take it lightly. Most of the Unspeakables here can easily take a Hit wizard one on one, so you have to be something special for them to have brought you here."

" Fine then, I challenge you!" She almost yelled.

Harry finished the glass and set it down. " No you dont. If you want my position then you might as well duel Croaker, he's number one and you have a better chance of beating him than you do me."

" I take offence to that!" Croaker stated sheepishly.

" It doesn't make it any less true. Plus girly you're not even in yet so you can't challenge me."

She looked shocked. " So you can tell me no if you dont want to duel me?"

" Normally no I cant, but like I said your not an Unspeakable. Then there is the fact that I have no interest in dueling one Hit Witch who is no match for me. You want to duel me then gain my attention, until then you can have my spot as number two. In other words its not worth my time dueling you."

Croaker stood up and motioned towards the door. " You two love birds can finish this when you're showing her around."

Harry gave him a look and walked out of the door hardly giving her anytime to follow. " You know you have no idea how good I am and yet you still wont even give me a chance."

" That's right. I dont have to know how good you are, I just know how good you aren't and that's up to par with me." He said bluntly as they entered the Time Department.

She looked around at all of the different things that were going one around her. In the corner there was somone who was shaving gold into sand and placing it in time turner capsules and far off she could see some people disappearing and reappearing holding something or another. As they walked out she replied. " How could you possibly know that. You dont know anything about me."

" I know that for the simple reason that no one is up to par with me. The number of people on this little island country that have to potential to hold me back for any given amount of time are about the same as the number of fingers I have on one hand and none of them would be able to defeat me. Then again ive never had to duel them full out either so thats giving them the benefit of the doubt. The number of people in the world that are on par with me probably isn't that much higher. Id say im probably in the top ten percent of witches and wizards out there, maybe the top five percent on my best days." He told her in all seriousness.

" Well it must hurt your ego I know someone who could wipe the floor with you. If you're top five percent then he is number one." She said as a matter of a factually.

Harry actually laughed at that. " Looks like someone has a hard-on for someone back at the Hit-Wizard headquarters. Would you mind telling me where that is by the way, Croaker wont let me near the place, seems to think that i'll pick a fight with a few of them."

Even with the mask on he could tell that her face was burning with a large blush. " Why I never! I dont have a whatever you call it for anyone thank you very much. It's the truth, he's been through things that you couldn't even imagine dealing with, you're not half the wizard he is. Besides he's not even a Hit Wizard."

" Im sure that im not. Hey how about this, send your little lover boy down and then if he is up to standards I will personally bring him into the Unspeakables no questions asked. To make it even better, if he wins then I will give him the key's to my office and ill move down to the Unspeakable department in charge of all the mysterious items that no one deals with anymore." He said turning and stopping her in her tracks. " What do you say, if he's half as good as you're claiming he is then he will be a nice challenge. Haven't had one of those in a while Is it a deal?"

" Ill have to ask him but I dont see why he would say no. Neville is always looking for a good fight and if you are half as good as you're claiming to be then you should be a good warm up for him." she said and Harry just stared at her.

" Wait, wait, wait, you mean Longbottom? You know Neville Longbottom? The leader of that Rogue vigilante group everyone is trying to find out about? You have got to be shitting me love. You cant get a blokes hopes up like that and then pull that card."

To say she was shocked was a vast understatement. No one was supposed to know who the leader was, or any of the members names for that matter. How this man knew was vital information, it could cause them to lose everything that they had worked for. " How the hell do you know about Neville and the Organization." She hissed pointing her wand at his throat. What worried her the most was the feriel grin on his face.

" You can say that me and Neville go way back. Hell he learned everything that he knows from me, im glad to see that he isn't slacking off. Now kindly remove your wand from neck before I removed your head." He said and nodded to the left. Looking over she saw that his wand was floating mid air besides her with a spell loaded at the tip. " I will fire before you even think of the spell to use so choose very carefully your next move here."

Knowing that he was right she lowered her wand in defeat and as soon as she did, a stinging charm hit her in the side of head. Yelping she grabbed the side of her head and stared daggers at him." Like I said, you might be good but you aren't on my level. And you really should learn how to call a bluff. If you are who they're letting into the Organization now a days then I have to say that im disappointed that I gave him the idea."

" Bloody Hell, you can go bugger yourself. Why do you insist on being an arse to people, you know no one will want to be around you while you act this way." She huffed.

" Did it occur to you that was the whole point? I dont want your approval, I dont need you to like me. There are a small handful who deserve my kindness and some uppity, newbie, Unspeakable wanna be isn't one of them. Since you hold Neville as such a high regard that must mean he's better than you. Neville is damn good, maybe up to Croaker's level, maybe, but he cant stand a full one on one against me. So remember that next time you decide to pass on a challenge to someone else you know who your dealing with.. And if you ever try to threaten me, it will be a lot worse than a stinging charm on the end of that wand." He said as he started walking back towards the entrance.

" Where the hell are you going?" She called after him.

Without looking back he answered. " Im going to find a drink. Youre attacking me ended our little tour prematurely. Should have kept your cool a little longer. I hope that you have fun on you explorations."

" Do I even get the name of the person who has been a total arse to me all day?" She yelled.

" Around here they call me Unspeakable Umbra." was the last thing that he said before he was lost from her sight.

She stood there for a moment in a slightly confused about the person that she had just met. Usually she could get a good reading on a person fairly quickly but he was a complete mystery. He seemed like a total arse on one hand but then from what she was lead to believe he was on fairly good terms with Croaker. Plus if he was the one who gave birth to the Organization then that meant that he had to care about people at some level. Another thing that had her confused was that he thought so little of the other Unspeakables but was one himself. That brought up the other point that he never said what department he did belong to in the first place. It was going to take a while to figure this guy out but if there was one thing that Hermione Granger loved it was a challenge.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4. The Neville Predicament

**A/N- Hey everyone back with another chapter. Well this was still within my week grace period so I hope that the wait wasn't to long. Thanks for all the reviews and there is one that I would like to comment on. Brian1972 i have a few retorts to your review. " As if professional's can act like that." Well really in the Harry Potter Universe do any of the professionals act like it? Harry doesn't care what people think about him, he is second in command and can do pretty much as he pleases. And about your whole Hermione being better than Harry. Hermione has always been better with her spell pool but it is never said that she is a better duelist. Harry has always one up'd Hermione in defense. Harry was dueling on par with some of the best Death Eaters in the books and that was when he was 15. His lack of attention in class hardly mattered when he was battling the death eaters. In my story Harry knows that he didn't beat Voldmort by skill so he decided to prove to himself that he could. Harry's power level was on par with Voldemort's when he was only 14. He was able to beat Voldemort when they were locked in the Priori Icantatem which was what made the apparitions come out of the tip of his wand. Harry's skill was way off but power wise they were damn close. After four year's in the Unspeakables which train you to be better than Hit-Wizards imagine how better Harry would be. He has always been better than Hermione in defense and now he has the skill to use all of his power to his full potential. Sorry for the rant everyone else.  
**

Neville Longbottom was sitting behind his desk, underneath some of the most power wards in the world when his floo came to life. If he were anywhere else then it wouldn't have been a problem but here it was a big deal. The wards that were in place kept anyone from flooing or apparating into or out of the complex for any reason whatsoever. There was one way in and one way out and that was a giant two foot thick titanium door which was goblin warden and ruin carved with enough protection magic to hold out a rampaging army of giants, troll, and pretty much anything else that could possible be thrown at it. They tested it multiple times and killing curses didn't faze it in the lightest and the most powerful blasting hexes fell against it like they were tickling charms.

Grabbing his wand he dashed over to the fire place and prepared for whoever it was to enter. As soon as they walked out of the flames he cast a powerful binding spell which to his surprise was reflected back at him. Despite his situation he calmed down dramatically when he saw who it was that came through the fireplace. Standing there in what Neville could only guess was the newest muggle fashion was none other than one of his closest companions Harry Potter. He was in a pair of very form fitting skinny jeans, a V-neck shirt, and the oddest shoes that he had ever seen.

" What the hell Neville have you forgotten everything that i've shown you? You should have started out with at least one if not more attacking spells and then the binds. More than likely they would have used a shield to block spells but did nothing against solid objects." Harry said hoisting the man up and into the chair that he had once been sitting in but leaving the ropes around him.

Huffing, Neville just looked up at the smug look on his friends face. " What force finally got you to come see the hideout. You refused outright to coming down here after YOU paid for everything. I can't imagine anything other than Voldemort coming back for the third time getting you down here."

" Don't even joke about that. He is dead and gone, and there is no way in hell that split his soul in more than seven parts. Actually I came to talk to you about one of the members. II know that most of the people that we had in the D.A were members here but I didn't know that you started recruiting more people." he said and Neville gave him a confused look.

" Harry all of the members of the Organization were members of the D.A. We haven't gotten any new members. We never trusted anyone enough to try and get more people involved. I mean we can if you want to but the twenty members that we have are more than enough to handle everything that we have too."

Walking around the table to a shelf on the wall Harry admired the wide variety of alcoholic beverages and picked one up before answering. " Neville how long has it been since you've gotten your head checked? There is no way that this girl was in the DA, trust me I could pick out the members of the DA in a heartbeat, she wasn't one of them."

" Look mate, im telling you that there isn't anyone in the group who wasn't in the DA. I dont know where you met this mystery girl but she must have been confused." Neville said finally freeing himself of the binds.

" Oh no she mentioned you by name. She threatened me with you actually, said that if I was you would wipe the floor with me, so she knows you well enough to know that your skill is extreme. That brings up another point, how in the hell do you know a Yank?" Harry questioned before taking a swig. Lowering the bottle at the lack of response Harry looked at him and could see that he had grown quite nervous at the question. " What's up Neville are you and Luna doing that weird open relationship thing again where you sleep with different people?"

Giving a fake laugh Neville quickly retorted. " NO. . im mean yes, but this is nothing like that. Where did you meet this girl at?"

" I met her at work. I had to show her the ropes, but then she threatened me when I brought up the Organization so I left and came here."

" I highly doubt that you met this girl at your business office Harry." Neville said nervously.

Harry sighed. " No I didn't. Neville I guess that if anyone could be trusted with this then it would be you. Im not the head of a transportation business ok, its a cover. I work down in the DoM as one of the Unspeakables that deals with everything and anything that they need me to. Im probably the only one that does a little bit of everything. You should know me very well by now since im the one that took the case into looking into the Organisation." Harry laughed at the look on his face before swallowing another gulp of the wine.

" You of all people are an Unspeakable. It had to be you of all people." Neville said tensing up putting his hand under his desk.

" What do you mean by that? Whats wrong with me being an Unspeakable." Harry said looking at Neville and seeing that he had his wand pointed towards him. " Oh you have got to be shiting me right now."

" I not going to attack you, this is for my protection." Neville stated understanding what it must have looked like to Harry.

Harry observed the half empty bottle and with a quick thought he finished it. " Im not going to attack you, but you better have a good reason for pointing your wand at me."

" Now you have to promise that you are going to listen to everything that I have to say before you do something that we both regret."

This had Harry's interest peeked so he decided to go along with it. " Sure whatever you say."

" I want you to know that I never was ok with keeping this from you it was only because she made me promise not to." he started.

" Neville what the hell are you talking about." Harry said hoping that he wasn't about to hear what he knew he was.

" Please understand, I found her a few years back when we were chasing that upcoming dark lord in America. She was a hit wizard there and a damn good one at that. She was after the same guy that we were and I just happened to run into her when I was doing a sweep. I couldn't believe it at first but it was really her. She made me swear not to tell anyone that I had even seen her. I told her that I wouldn't and then I inducted her into the Organization so she could help us if anything broke out across the pond. Nobody else knows she exists in the organization, they just know that we have a source of information in America. We've been in contact ever since and im really sorry. I never wanted to you to have to know about it like this." He pleaded hoping that Harry would understand.

Harry got a very dangerous look in his eyes that made Neville hold his wand even tighter than before. " What are you trying to say?"

" Harry, that was Hermione." Neville said with sympathetic voice.

To say that Harry was shocked was a huge understatement. Neville, one of his closest friends had kept this from him when he knew how much pain that he had gone through after her disappearance. Never knowing if she was ok, or how she was doing, always wishing that he could have gone back and talked with her instead of rushing out into the storm and letting her go without a goodbye. He knew deep down that it was for the best that someone knew she was ok but now the pain, confusion, and betrayal were clouding his mind. Neville almost didn't have time to counter the first spell as Harry summoned his wand and shot the spell so fast Neville hardly saw it coming. Not taking time to figure out what the spell was Neville shot it back towards Harry who flicked it into the ceiling. When the dust from the ceiling finished falling Neville saw that Harry was tying his long hair back in a ponytail.

" Please Harry can we just talk about this? I know that you're pissed but what was I supposed to do?" He asked.

Harry had a deadly crack to his voice. " Neville this is going to hurt."

Neville jumped to the side and threw three curses at Harry as the ground where he was standing just moments before was blown apart. Harry deflected all three with ease and continued his assault. Two more spells shot just shy of Neville and it was now that he was so thankful for the training that Harry had given him. This was nothing compared to what he used to go through everyday when Harry would train him to be the leader of his Organization. Planting his feet firmly on the ground he threw up a powerful shield charm that absorbed the next volley of spells that Harry sent his way. This time he was ready and started to fire off some spells of his own. Most of them were powerful binding charms, but he threw in some others to keep Harry distracted. Deep down he knew that he had as much chance of binding Harry as he did a dragon but he didn't want to take the chance to either hurt Harry or anger him more than he already was.

The fact that this was a real duel happened when first blood was drawn. It wasn't much but a cut opened on Neville's face as a cutting hex barely missed him. Neville fired two piercing charms, a blasting charm and a stunner all back to back. The two piercing charms hit Harry's shield in the same spot creating a large crack and the blasting charm finished the job. The stunner passed through the space where the shield used to be and Neville couldn't believe that he had gotten that lucky. That was until Harry dodged a the very last second and shot towards Neville like a rocket. Harry lunged forward and aimed a kick right towards his head but Neville brought up a shield. Kicking off of it, Harry flipped into the air and slashed his wand in a powerful arch bringing the shield crashing down.

"Neville!" Someone cried from the doorway and the split second laps in concentration was all that Harry needed. A powerful banishing curse threw Neville across the room and he slid to a halt at the person's feet. To make matters worse it was none other than the person he had left standing in the DoM not twenty minutes ago.

" What the hell is going on here, are you alright Neville?" She asked crouching down beside him but never taking her now drawn wand off Harry.

" I was bloody alright before your distraction. You really shouldn't be here right now, its not the best time." He said.

Scoffing she replied. " Well it looks like you might be right about that. Who the hell is that? He was holding his own against you better than anyone that ive ever seen you duel. Why was he attacking you?"

" You do know that im right here you know?" Harry bit venomously. Walking towards them he didn't faze as Hermione started throwing spells at him. He would just deflect them without his wand and little hesitation. " It seems that you were right Neville, she did start fresh. She can't even recognize who I am anymore so it looks like she got what she wanted all along."

" Come on now Harry that's not fair." He started but Harry wasn't paying attention.

Hermione was the next one to speak. " What do you mean not recognizing you?"

She was getting frustrated because he just kept coming so she started to fire off some of her more powerful curses. As the Darker curses started coming Harry flicked his wand into his had but kept deflecting them at the same rate. " Neville, you have gotten soft since I stopped your training. You let someone yelling your name distract you in a duel with a more powerful opponent. If you want to stay in charge then you are going back to lessons every other day until I think that you are back to where you were."

To say Neville looked pale was an understatement. " You can't be serious. This is just to punish me for not telling you about her!"

" Sue me, my organization my rules. And you might want to stock up on healing potions, for some reason I think that you might need them." He said looking at Hermione who had stopped casting spells and was looking at him in totally shock. Giving her a gaze that would have sent a shiver up Severus Snapes spine he turned on his heels and started to walk back towards the fireplace.

When Hermione made the realization about who it was she was at a complete loss. This was not how they were supposed to meet, her casting lethal curses at him trying to keep him from maiming Neville. " Harry! Harry please wait I want to talk with you."

" Im sorry Miss Granger, there is nothing that I would like to discuss with you." He said back towards her.

She walked a few feet after him and called him again. " I didn't want to meet you like this you know. I was planning on telling you and Ron together."

" And you and Neville would have just played the part of friends meeting for the first time in years, if I wouldn't have found out. You should be very proud of yourselves." He said quiet enough that Hermione could barely hear what he had said.

Looking at his receding figure Hermione still couldn't put it all together. Harry had been here attacking Neville because he already knew that she was here but that shouldn't have been possible. She had only been in Britain for two days now and the only person that she had informed was Neville. He knew about her plans to go to Ron and Harry after she got the job so he wouldn't have told Harry before hand. She was racking her brain to fit the puzzle together before he left and then it clicked. That Unspeakable said that he was the one that taught Neville everything that he knew and now Harry was forcing him into lessons. Not only that but Harry said that it was 'his' organization and the Unspeakable she had talked with said that he gave Neville the idea. "Unspeakable Umbra" she yelled. She had hope when he stopped for a moment when she called out his name and turned to face her.

" Well you are the brightest witch of our generation aren't you Miss Granger?" Were the last words out of his mouth before he vanished into the green flames.

" Im not so sure anymore." She whispered before turning to help Neville up. She could see that he was pretty bruised and battered, plus the cut was worse than he first thought that it would be. Letting him put most of his weight on her she helped him to the infirmary where she was able to get him the potions and salves that he needed to heal quickly. She couldn't bring herself to look into his eyes and it was so quiet that she jumped when he finally whispered to her.

" Hermione what did we do?" were the the words that echoed in her head.

" I don't know Neville, I was doing what I thought was right at the time. I needed to leave, at least at the time I thought that I did. I did what I set out to do but some how it doesn't feel like I thought it would. I mean I don't regret leaving, but sometimes I wonder if it was worth losing as much as I did.?" Neville got up and wrapped an arm around her.

" Lets go back to the Office, I think that we both need a stiff drink." He said and she agreed.

Neither of them spoke a word as they were making their way back to his main office. Both of them were thinking thoughts that neither wanted to voice, and they both knew that they were in quite a predicament. From the anger that Harry was showing Neville knew that each and every lesson that he was being forced to take were going to be hell. They were hell before Harry had a reason to make them hell so in other words he was fucked. Hermione was in the opposite position. Neville was going to be seeing a lot of Harry but it seemed that he didn't want to be seeing her period, let alone trying to talk with her. She might have had a chance before but now that her secret was out, that she still had contact with someone from this life, she didn't know what she would do. What would he do? She just knew that as soon as he could find Ron he was going to tell him all about what had happened. Harry was taking it terribly and she could only imagine what his reaction would be.

Neville walked over to the shelf and grabbed a bottle of whiskey that had a bit of dust on it. Popping the top off of it he got a whiff of it and his eyes watered. Harry was the one who gave him this bottle for christmas last year, apparently it was a 80 year old whiskey and one of only 3 bottles that were ever put on the market. Harry would never tell him how much he bought it for. The best idea that Neville had was when Harry asked him how much he spent on the cottage that Neville had built for Luna. When he told him around 320,000 galleons Harry just laughed and that was something that really worried him. Pouring himself and Hermione a nice helping he saw that she had the same reaction when she brought the glass up to her lips. Looking over she saw the empty bottle lying on the table and gave Neville a questioning look.

" Harry finished it right before he started attacking me." Neville explained.

Hermione was again shocked. " You mean he dueled like that drunk? You should have seen him drinking before he showed me around the DoM, he was downing scotch like it was water. Then he came here and drank some more?"

" Hermione." Neville started sadly. " You've been gone a long time, things have changed a lot. None of us took it first at well, but I dont think anyone took it quite as bad as Harry did. I mean me and Luna had each other and Ron, he had Lavender, the twins were working like crazy so they didn't have much time to think about much else. But Harry, he was alone. You know that he ended it with Ginny before he went looking for the Horcruxes, by the time that everything was over with she was seeing someone else. Harry coped with the bottle, for a while it was really bad. Then one day no one saw him by the time we got passed the wards on his flat we found him so close to death that even the med witches didn't think that they would be able to help him. It took pumping seven bottles of sobering potions into his bloodstream the Muggle way to even put him in the red-zone. After that we tried to talk to him about it but he wouldn't say anything about it. Since that day, he still drinks as much as ever if not more but it doesn't affect him as it should. Two days ago I watched him put down an entire thing of Firewhiskey and half a bottle of Goblin Ale and yet he walk out of the bar like he had taken one drink. I don't know why but he is always drinking Hermione he has been for the past five years."

Hermione was shedding tears by the end of the his backstory. To think that Harry had tried to kill himself was something that she couldn't comprehend. He was the strongest person that she knew, he had been through everything that someone could and he always came out swinging and on top. She knew that he was upset when she left but how could he be so far gone? She had lost the most important person in her life that night and it had been hard for a while but each day it got a little better, it seemed like the exact opposite happened to Harry.

" Neville where is Harry's flat at?" she asked him.

" Oh no! Im already in for a world of pain, there is no way that im going to dig myself a deeper hole!" Neville said sipping his drink.

Hermione looked at him with a pleading expression on her face. " Please, I really have to talk to him. I know its asking a lot of you but I don't really have any other choice. I dont know if I can save what little bit of a connection that I have to him."

Neville sighed as he swallowed his drink down. Giving a shudder at the power he looked back at up her. " I can't believe that im about to tell you this. He isn't going to be at home, ok? He only ever is at his flat when he is sleeping or eating he never spends any real time there. Im going to guess he is probably at the White Wyvern pub in Knockturn Alley. That's usually where he goes for a drink when he doesn't want to be bothered."

With a huge smile on her face she gave Neville a peck on the cheek and downed her drink before running over to the floo. Calling out the name of her apartment she disappeared leaving and emotionally distraught Neville pouring himself another glass.

**A/N- Hope that you liked it. Review and tell me what you think.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5. Catching Up With The Redheads

**A/N-Hey everyone back again. Thanks for the Reviews its always amazing to see how well that people like the story. And to Brian I didn't want to keep using the A/N to continue our convo but for some reason FF wont let me Pm you. Yes you are correct in the fact that Hermione choice in a carreer of dueling is a bit unlike her but then again the whole point in leaving was to change herself. She chose something that she was good at, which was dueling. Her warding was extremely helpful but warding is not used in dueling. Ive already stated that Hermione was the best at what she was. Harry himself said that normal Unspeakables can atleast hold their own if not win against Hit-Wizards. For the to be inducted into the Unspeakables because of her dueling skill is a testament of how far above her peers was, but she still hasn't had the training that Unspeakables go through. Harry has had the past four years with the full backing of the DoM to improve his skills. This means that he had trainers, books on spells that no one outside the DoM has access to, old tomes with magic Hermione doesn't know about, and masters of practically any subject at his disposal. And your right he did lose his drive for the first year after shes gone but Neville clearly states that after is near death experience something changed with Harry and im telling you that it was more than just being able to handle his booze better. He needed something to lose himself in and he chose to become the most powerful person he can be. And to be fair even if Harry and Hermione took the Hit-Wizard class together Harry would still be better than she was. They were taking the same classes in Hogwarts and he was a head of her. Now that he has had more advanced training it wouldn't make since to put them on the same level. **

Harry was sitting on a bar stool at the far end of the bar. Motioning to the bartender that he would like drink and to keep them coming, a large mug of Goblin Ale appeared in front of him. Taking a large swig of his drink he used those few seconds to get a good look at the few other people that were sitting around the pub. All in all, things could get messy here very quickly if all the wrong things happened at once. A alpha wolf and a couple lower wolves, probably his right and left hand men, were in the corner laughing up a storm being the usual loud that werewolves are. On the other side of them were two older looking Vampires who were slowly getting more and more fed up with the commotion. Other than that there were just a bunch of dirty, intimidating looking guys sitting around and all of them were probably quick to draw wands if need be.

When the door swung open everyone in the pub stopped talking and looked to see who it was, Harry who was included in that group wanted to slam his face into the the counter in front of him. The small figure of a woman started to make towards Harry when the two Vampires decided that she was too good to let go. " Hey pretty, how about you come and sit with us?"

Hermione looked at them and flipped them off. " How about you piss off?" She hissed in a very un-Hermione like way. The rage on their faces were evident and in the blink of an eye they were both standing on either side of her.

" What did you just say bitch." One of the asked and other went to spin her around. Quicker than most could follow, two wooden stakes appeared out of thin air and were lodged into both of their chests. They both collapsed into piles of ash. " She said piss off."

Everyone just looked at her for a while before the werewolves just started laughing and everyone went about their business. She quickly walked over to Harry who was now taking another swing wishing that he hadn't came here. " What the hell are you doing here Miss Granger?"

" If you hate me so much then why did you just save me back there? You could have just let it alone and let me deal with it myself." She asked.

" Just because I don't want to be around you doesn't mean that I was going to let those two turn you into a god damn human raisin and they would have. You saw how much people care in here, I killed those two and the damn werewolves are still going on about it. Why the hell were you provoking them?"

Looking down she answered. " I knew that this had to be a tough place. I figured that if i didn't let them just bully me around then I would be good. I mean i'm a Hit-Witch I can handle any body on the streets no problem, I couldn't tell they were vampires."

" Well now you do so you should probably leave. You aren't cut out for this place and I have nothing that I want to say to you at the moment. Leaving for five years then just coming back and hoping for what we had, you dont have that right. You hurt a lot of people, and many of them I consider friends and family, you were that once but I don't know who the hell you are any more." He said throwing a few galleons on the table he made his way out the door leaving a sad Hermione looking at his back once again as he walked away. Knowing that following him again wouldn't help the situation any she just waited a few minutes and left. Walking along the paths of the dark alley she was quickly finding out that shew as getting more and more lost. She turned a corner and saw out of the corner of her eye that someone was following her. Summoning her wand into her hand she kept walking and making turns here and there trying to lose the guy but he was persistent. Seeing an open door she quite ducked inside and waited for him to walk by. As soon as he had passed the doorway she quickly ran up from behind and stuck her wand under his chin. " Who the hell are you and why are you following me?"

A tap on her shoulder made her spin around and she came face to face with none other the Croaker. " I was given a tip that a potential employee of mine might need safe harbor out of Knockturn Alley. Now why would you be anywhere around this place?" As he said this the man in front of her disappeared in a puff of smoke.

" You made a clone of yourself out of magic?" she asked fairly impressed.

" Well with you being a Hit-Witch and all I figured that you might take my head off before asking questions so I was covering my ass. Now stop avoiding the subject." He said as the walked along the path.

Signing Hermione hung her head. " I was here trying to talk to Harry. I know that its only the first day but I figured that maybe we would at least be able to talk a bit, instead I get myself into a worse mess, a friend battered and bruised, and two vampires staked."

" Do you regret it? I mean leaving and all?" Croaker asked her.

" Not at all! I loved my time there, I got to make new friends and made it up the ranks because of the work that I put out. The last five years have been amazing but maybe I shouldn't have left everyone out, well almost everyone out. I will never be able to talk to them about it because they will only know about how they had to move on without me here."

" Well you know that Harry isn't the only friends that you had before. Maybe you need to go talk to the others and see how they react. From what ive seen and been told Harry had it the worst which means that he will probably be the hardest to reconnect with." he replied knowingly.

She looked at him with a huge smile on her face. " You're right, I probably go to see the others. I dont know how they are going to take it but it can't be any worse than Harry's take on it."

" Well it looks like that the Diagon is right up there so if you think that you will be able to make it there by yourself I have things that require my attention. It has been a while since ive talked with anyone like this besides Harry, I think that you will be getting that job no problem." were his final words to her before he apparated away leaving her to walk the rest of the way.

When she made it to the alley she quickly turned down the walkway and started heading towards one of the largest shops in the alley. To say that she was blown away was the understatement of the year. The Weasley Wizard Wheezes had doubled in size since the last time that was there, and the man with the tophat now had legs as well and was standing fifteen feet over the store making cards disappear into thin air instead of the rabbit under his hat. Opening the door, her amazement was even more than when she saw the outside of the building. The pandemonium that was around before was only amplified a hundredfold now. The inside had been expanded to triple of what it was originally and fireworks, paper birds, fanged flyers, and all other sorts of magical things were flying around but none of them ever seemed to hit anyone or anything. The shelves were covered top to bottom with all sorts of creative things that she would have never thought about using in pranks. In the middle of taking it all in she never noticed the owner who noticed the pretty girl that had walked in. The sound of apparition behind her caught her attention and she came face to face with the two of them.

" Now from the way your just standing there I am going to guess that you've never been here bef-"

" HERMIONE?" He yelled at the same time before crushing her in a bone crushing hug. In the midst of the chaos going around them hardly anyone stopped and noticed the two embraced in the middle of the store. " What the bloody hell are you doing here and when do you just come back from leaving the face of the earth?"

" Well I had to come see my favorite prankster didn't I? I came by but this is so much more than I expected, you've really grown the store since that last time that ive seen it." she laughed.

Fred looked around proudly, " You think that this is amazing? This is one of five stores that we've expanded since you left my dear. We pretty much put Zonko's out of business so we bought them and started selling everything at half of what we did at first. That really brought business in, after that it was just finding places that we could expand to."

" Oh my god that's amazing!" She said thinking about the revenue that must be coming in.

" Yeah but that's enough about me. How long have you been in town?" He asked.

She smiled, she was so glad that he wasn't angry with her. " This is my second day back actually. I was told that I should probably go around and meet all of my old friends so here I am."

" Well whoever told you that was a very smart bloke or lass. I cant wait till the others see you, everyone is going to be so excited." He laughed throwing his arm around her.

" Not everyone is so excited to see me." She said sadly.

Over exaggerating a hurt expression he stopped and turned to her. " Alas, I should have known that I wouldn't be your first choice for a visit, even if I am the best looking of all of your friends here. Now who wouldn't be glad to see that pretty little face of yours?"

" I met with Harry on some not so good circumstances and now im in a bit of a mess." she told him.

" Ah, I understand now. You could have showed up in his bed dressed in nothing but whipped topping and you would have been in a mess. Maybe a different type of mess but it would have been messy." He said giving her a wink which got him a punch to the shoulder. " I was kidding, god you hit harder than Ron does. Of everyone that I can think of Harry probably would be the one that is going to have the hardest time with your return."

" Yeah so ive been told. I had no idea that everyone would be upset without me around." she said truthfully.

He huffed before answering. "What were we supposed to do without our other little sister running around keeping us out of trouble? Well at least thats what you were to some of us, to others you were an extra daughter, a sister, and then to some something else. Most of us had others to help them, but Harry was alone."

" Yeah ive been told that too. I dont know what to do about it though. I cant change what I did and I dont think that I would even if I could. But I also dont want him to hate me either." she told him but then it registered what the last thing that he said was.

" Wait you think he hates you? Hermione you are the last thing one the face of the earth that Harry could hate. You just have to give him a bit of time and space, trust me Harry will come around. Plus with everyone being so glad to see you there is no way he can stay stubborn forever. You should stop by and see mom and Gin. Dads probably at work but they should be home. Gin is with mom more than she is at her own house so there is no doubt that they are both there. Hell Ron might be there as well, I know that he didn't go into work today." Giving her another hug and a kiss on the cheek he wave her off to find the others and as she was walking out the store she heard him yell " EVERYTHING FIFTY PERCENT OFF!"

One quick apparition later she was in the countryside looking up at the same house that she remembered from five years ago. She had a huge grin on her face as memories came rushing back to her mind of being here all those years ago. Not a garden gnome was out of place and she felt like she was here just yesterday as she walked up the way. She got about halfway to the house when she noticed the door start to open ever slightly and then a red streak shot out of the door and when she noticed who it was she started to run as well. Meeting halfway, strong hands quickly threw her up in the air before catching her and giving her a hug that rivaled that of his brothers. Burying his face in her hair she heard him whispering. " Ive missed you so much, promise me that you will never do anything so foolish again, thats my job ok? I never thought that I was going to see you again. You dont know what that was like, never put me through that again."

Tears of both sadness and happiness welled up in her eyes at his words. She was so happy that he wasn't holding it against her, but just by his tone and the words that he said she could tell that he was much more mature than he was when she left and she was sad that she wasn't able to watch him become what he was now. She could hear stories but it would never be the same as actually being there and being a part of the process. " Im so sorry, im never leaving again. I should have been here but I had things that I had to do before I was ready to settle down in a stable life. I hope you understand."

" I dont really. I mean I really dont know what you had to do on your own, but then when did I ever know what you were talking about? I dont know why your back or why you left in the first place but I know three people inside who would love to see you."

The both walked up to the house arm in arm and Hermione could see the smiles on two of the faces that were looking back at her and a look of almost jealousy coming from the other. Ginny ran up and tackled her to the ground with her hug leaving the both sprawled in the grass in a mess of tangled limbs. After a few minutes of rolling around and laughing they both picked themselves up and Mrs. Weasley was the next to give her a hug, and Hermione found out where the boys got their hugs from because Mrs. Weasley's blew both of theirs out of the water.

Getting a good look at Ginny she noticed that she was wearing an outfit that was similar to the one that she knew that she wore when playing quidditch at Hogwarts. " What are you wearing Ginny" she laughed.

Looking aghast at the question she screeched. " Are you telling me that you never followed quidditch when you were gone?"

" Sorry Ginny, but that's a big fat nope. I didn't have the time, plus it's only fun when im watching someone that I know." She said and Ginny smiled.

'" Well that's good to hear because i've been the seeker for the Holyhead Harpies for the past two years! Now you can come and watch me play whenever you want to!" she said proudly. Hermione went to comment but Mrs. Weasley spoke up first.

" I cant believe that you're really here." Mrs. Weasley said, giving another hug. " You're so grown up now, it seems like just yesterday you all were in first year coming off of the train. Welcome home love, how about we go inside and I can fix us something to eat?"

" That sounds lovely Mrs. Weasley." She said as they filed into the house. Just like the outside, everything was exactly the way it was the last time that she was here with not a single thing out of its place. Noticing that Lavender was eyeing her carefully, Hermione decided to break the ice. " Its nice to see you again Lavender."

" Isn't it? I know its been forever since we've seen each other. I love what you did with your hair, when did you change it?" She asked way too sweetly.

Playing along Hermione decided to just answer her question. " I did it about a year after I left. I had never been to a magical hair stylist but im glad that my friend took me there. It's been that way ever since, they said that it was just me and I have to say that I agree. I was fine with my brown bushy mess but I like this so much better."

" Yeah I have to say Hermione that you look smoking with that hair. You can play that whole dark and mysterious card that all the boys are dying for." Ginny agreed nudging her with her shoulder.

" Oh please, me dark and mysterious? I might be a Hit-Witch now but thats only for work, there is no way that im dark and mysterious." she laughed as a plate of sandwiches made its way to the middle of the table.

" Hermione dear, did you say Hit-Witch? I bet that would be so exciting, you and Ron could talk forever about that line of work." Mrs. Weasley said taking her place at the table.

" Oh really?" Hermione asked surprised. " Are you a Hit-Wizard?"

" No, im actually the second in command over in the auror department. The only reason that I haven't switched over to Hit-Wizard is because in a few more years Ill be head of the department." He said before biting into his sandwich. It was now that Hermione finally realized how much had changed since she had left. The quiet Harry that she once knew was now an Unspeakable with enough power and skill to take Dumbledore in his prime, Ron was the highest ranking auror in the DMLE, Fred had build an empire of pranking stores, and Ginny was a professional quidditch player. She already knew about Neville being the Herbology teacher at Hogwarts, and Luna being a spell crafter like her mother was before her. It made her wonder what else she missed out on during her years of isolation.

" I bet she could still kick your butt in a duel." Ginny teased.

Ron threw up his eyebrow in a playing manner. " I wouldn't so so sure, i've stalemated Kingsley before so im no slouch."

" I guess that we will just have to wait until the dueling tournament won't we. I don't plan on losing so quickly this time, it was bull that I had to duel Neville my first match!" Ginny huffed but Hermione just gave her a confused look.

" Oh yeah you don't know anything about it. The last two years Professor McGonagall hosted a dueling tournament at Hogwarts for anyone who wants to enter. Neville won it last year but I hardly think that it surprised anyone. Neville got crazy good with a wand over the last few years, thanks to the lessons that Harry was giving him and everything, but Harry never duels, say that there no one there to make it a fair fight. We were thinking about getting some of the ministry people and professional duelist to sign up this year so he doesn't have a choice." Ron said.

" Yeah you came back at the right time to, she is hosting it two days from now. The last two years its been kinda small but it is supposed to be really something this year." Ginny said but Hermione was looking down at the table. Ron noticed it and almost automatically made the connection.

" You've seen him haven't you? Harry I mean." he asked.

" Yes, he didn't take it too well either. He found out something that I was hiding from everyone and it didn't help any." She said quietly.

Ron was iffy but he asked anyway. " What were you hiding?"

" When Neville was in America a few years back we ran into each other. I made him swear not to tell anyone, well Harry found out today and it didn't go well. He was dueling Neville when I found them, got Neville good with a banishing charm when I distracted him for a second. Im sorry that I never told you." She told him. She looked into his eyes and saw a wide range of different emotions. Confusion, hurt, but most of all understanding and that made her let out a breath she had been holding.

Looking around the table all of the Weasleys seemed to be going through the same type of emotions while Lavender sat there looking around awkwardly. Ginny walked around the table and with a loud crack her hand connected with Hermiones face. " That is for leaving, and lying to us."

" And this is for coming back." She said as she threw herself at Hermione and gave her a long heartfelt hug. Everyone else was looking around not believing what had just happened but when Hermione returned the gesture the pounding hearts were put a little more at ease. Returning to her seat they all began to catch up on everything that Hermione had missed out on since she left. The following hours were spent with plenty of laughs, teasing, some tears, and a bit of silence. When Mr. Weasley got home another bout of hugs and stories were passed around while supper was cooking dinner. Almost as if they could smell the food, as soon as dinner was coming out of the oven Fred and George showed up. George who had been working at one of the other stores when Hermione stop by and saw Fred was pleasantly surprised when she was sitting at the that they all would just stay the night and catch up, they all dug in. Hermione had almost forgotten how good Mrs. Weasleys food was and she was going back for thirds before everything was said and done. After they ate they all sat around the fireplace and talked until one by one they slowly fell asleep. The last thing that Hermione thought before sleep took her was that it would have been better if Harry had been here.

**A/N- Well there you have it my friends. She's back and most everyone is liking the fact that she is back. It will be interesting to see how this turns out since I dont really know where im going with this myself. Next chapter Dueling Tournament. Cant wait to write out some epic battles. **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N- Hey guys im so sorry that I missed my dead line. I know that I said I would try to get them to you within a week but this was terrible. Between school, work, and everything else that I had going on I was only getting like fifteen minutes at a time to try and write this. I hope that it was worth the wait and im going to stop ranting so that you can read your long awaited chapter. Have fun and dont forget to review please. **

Two days later at the dueling tournament was the first time that Hermione saw Harry since the pub incident. He floo called out of work the day before and Croaker commented that it was the first time since Harry started work at the Unspeakable that he hadn't showed up for work. Knowing that she was the cause of his absence weighed heavy on her conscious even after Croaker told her that after four years anything that could get Harry to stay home for a day was a good thing. The only good thing that happened that day was that Croaker instated her as an Official Unspeakable, but even then she was too focused on Harry to be excited about it. Going to bed that night she fell into a restless sleep and she tossed and turned until six that morning when her alarm went off.

She was now entering the tournament and looking around her she could see some stiff competition. Both Croaker, and Kingsley had entered this years tournament and that alone was speaking numbers in itself. The two were considered the best duelist that the Ministry had to offer, besides Harry but not many people knew about his actual skill so they didn't put him in the mix. Along side them were some world famous dueling champions, and even Professor Flickwick was entering. Ron and Ginny were both entering with her but after seeing all of the other people who were here none of them were too sure of themselves. After she signed her name she turned around to give the quill to the next person and her heart skipped a beat when she locked eyes with none other than Harry Potter.

" Hey Harry." she said quietly. For a second she didnt think that he was going to reply but then he took his hands out of his pockets and answered.

" Hello there Mrs. Granger ." He replied. " So you're entering in this thing too?"

" Yeah it seems like it would be fun. I was told that you never enter yourself into these things." she said.

He shrugged his shoulders. " I dont. I able to get someone to agree to enter if I did as well. She's about the only person here im worried about, Croaker might be difficult but if I stay on my toes I will be fine. That older wizard is supposed to be America's version of Dumbledore. What do you know about him?."

Hermione looked over to where he was pointing and saw the man that he was talking about. " Oh dear, his name is Ruthford Griphon and is definitely a very powerful wizard. Ive seen him do things that I would only think to see come from Dumbledore or Voldemort so I would definitely not want to have to duel him." She told him as he signed his name on the paper.

" Good to see you on the platform." He said and started to leave but she put a hand on his shoulder.

" Why are you talking to me. I mean two days ago you wouldn't even give me the time of day, so what changed?" she asked.

Looking at her he frowned and answered. "Do not get me wrong it still hurts, what you did, but i'm used to dealing with emotional pain. Seeing as we will be working within close proximity from now on trying to avoid you will be impossible. I am not the emotional boy I was when you left, it was your choice to leave, nothing more and nothing less. I cannot blame you for your choices but understand that it is not me who caused this rift between us, it was only you."

She was stunned at his answer. She was both happy and sad to hear the words that came out of his mouth. On one hand he had all but came out and said that he forgave her for leaving but he also said that he was still hurting because of the things that she kept from him. It also seemed that he had no want to become the type of friends that they were before but at least he wasn't going to give her the cold shoulder. In the end she was glad that he took the day off because if he would have had to be around her yesterday he may have never came to the conclusion that he had. She wanted to hug him like she used to do when he was upset and emotional but knowing that she was the person who caused it stayed her reaction. There was nothing that she could do except watch him walk off and get lost in the crowd. After he was gone she went and sat in the front row with Ginny and waited for the list of first duels to start. Talking about what had just happened Ginny seemed happy that any progress was being made between the two as if she knew something that Hermione was oblivious to. Fifteen minutes later the announcement started and the large piece of parchment that was hanging in front of the crowd started to list the first round of the competition. Finding her name it said that she would be dueling on the third platform against someone who wrote down "Unspeakable two". She had already been told about how the secrecy of the Unspeakables was of the highest priority. Hermione was guessing that they wanted to be known as an Unspeakable so that it wouldn't look weird that some random person was skilled enough to duel in the tournament.

She wasn't worried about it though, when she was first inducted into the Attack Force they tested her skill with the last master level dummy that they had left. While it gave her a little problem she had it disarmed and demobilized within five minutes. The leader was quite impressed in her skill and had said that she was the first person coming into the force that was able to deal with one of the dummies as quickly and skillful as she did. She was by no means the first person to come in and beat it, but she had only taken one curse. Hermione could tell that most of the Unspeakables that were watching her were fairly impressed with her skill considering that it was only her first day.

Saying bye to Ginny, who was on her way to her own platform, she made made her way through the crowd towards the dueling stage. There were a few people who were already dueling and some of the magic being used was quite impressive. Flitwick was dueling toe to toe with another one of the Unspeakables and Neville was backing George into a corner. She stepped up to the platform and took a look at the person that she would soon be dueling. Just from the badge on their robes she could tell that they were from the Battle Squadron and from the barely noticeable uncomfortable shift that they gave she knew that they remembered her from yesterday. She showed no worry or discomfort in having to duel her opponent and that was impressive to the crowd who didn't know that Hermione herself was a Unspeakable. She could hear different yells and cheers for her to win, and this only boosted her moral. Seeing her name on the roster and stunned many of her old friends and acquaintances who had no idea that she was back from America. Drawing her wand she got into dueling position. The Unspeakable on the other side of her did the same and when the both nodded the judge gave them the go ahead.

Strait of the bat, Hermione started with a full on frontal attack that didn't really take the Unspeakable by surprise. A powerful shield was thrown up around them which took most of the first volley of spells. A fire whip shot out from the other side of the shield and she summoned a wave that intercepted it before it could get to close. Now that the Unspeakable was free of spell fire for a moment he rushed forward and started firing off his own set of curses. She had to dodge out of the way as a supercharged banishing hex made its way through her spell fire. Coming out of the roll she deflected both stunners back at them followed with ropes that she shot out of her wand, and a blasting hex to sum it all together. He dodged out of the way of the first spell like Hermione expected him two and was right in the way for the others. Having no choice he threw up a shield for the second stunner but the ropes passed right through and bound his arms and legs together. A moment later the blastin hex hit him and sent he flying backwards. Summoning his wand he stunned him for good measure before turning the judge. A roar of cheers sounded when Hermione was declared the winner of the match. On the parchment the unspeakable was marked off along with Fred, George, another another Unspeakable, Flitwick, Ginny, Kingsley, and Ron.

A few of the duels had been fairly close, Ginny and Luna were both pretty evenly matched but Luna, being a spell maker, had some spells that Ginny had no idea about. In the end that was her saving grace. Kingsley and Griphon were going head to head for a while but slowly Griphon overpowered him which was an amazing feat when you are battling Kingsley Shacklebolt. Flitckwick had the upperhand for a while but his small older body, even with his years more of experience, couldn't keep up with the lean young body of the Unspeakable. Ron didnt do to bad against Croaker either but his lack of Unspeakable training and a smaller spell pool sealed the deal for him. Other's had been a bit of overkill from what Hermione saw. From what Hermione could make from the tidbits that she heard she didnt think that Harry's duel with Fred lasted more that thirty seconds, and Neville's duel with George didn't last much longer. What she saw next was what surprised her even more was that there was one duel still going on.

McGonagall was firing off spells faster than she could keep up with at the last Unspeakable who entered. He was wearing a specific mask that Hermione had grown quite accustomed to the day before. It was the head of the Attack Squadron and the fact that her old professor had him completely on the defencive filled her with pride. The head of her department was the only other Unspeakable besides Harry who could say that he could defeat Croaker one on one. He was a legend in the Unspeakables, he and Croaker had a friendly competition to see who could win the most duels against the other. Right now the score was 12- 10 in Croaker's favor. Hermione didn't get to much of the duel because McGonagall ended it fairly quickly afterwards. A spell clipped the Unspeakable's robes and suddenly they were transfigured into Gorilla that bear hugged him and in that distraction she summoned his wand from his limp grip. Not being able to get out of the apes grasp there was nothing that he could do except admit defeat. Stepping off of the stage it didn't seem that she had one hair out of place. She saw Hermione watching her and started to walk towards her old student.

" That was amazing Professor." Hermione said giving her a hug.

" It is good to see you again child. And none of this Professor business, it has been a long time since I was your professor." She smiled. " And after you face up to the most powerful dark lord in history, Unspeakable or not, any opponent doesn't seem up to par. I am guessing though Harry is waiting to prove me wrong."

" I guess that you do have a point there Prof- Minerva. So you are the one who Harry convinced to sign up for this tournament." she replied.

Chuckling McGonagall answered. " Yes, said that he's never had the chance to duel me before and that he had been wanting to for a while. For some reason he seems to think that im an above average duelist."

" Quiet being modest, you just took out the head of the Unspeakables Attack Force and your hair is still perfect."

" Well, I couldn't be shamed in front of all of my students now could I?" she told her. " Besides you don't think that I got where I am by being a pushover do you?"

Hermione laughed at that. " I don't think that anyone who's met you would call you that, and if they thought it they definitely wouldn't say so."

On the other side of the crowd, Harry watched Hermione and his old teacher talking and laughing as if they had talked everyday for the past five years. It was something that he knew that he couldn't do even if he wanted to. He spent the day before doing nothing but thinking about everything that had happened and what he should do about it. He had been and still was very upset about the choices she had made, but as he told her before he could now understand that it wasn't his place to make her stay. That didn't mean however that she didn't have to live with the aftermath, and the fact that Harry couldn't deal with her return was part of it. She never lied to him, even if she was going to pretend that her and Neville wern't in communication, she didn't have the choice to now and he couldn't be angry with her for something that she didn't do. Instead his anger was replaced with sadness and hurt. He knew it would be a while before it didn't, but the longer he tried to avoid and give her the silent treatment the longer it would be before it would stop. In the back of his mind he longed for them to have what they did at one point in time, for the friendship that was shattered that night but as thought about it only more anger and pain rose with it. She would have to earn everything that they had lost and more because of the fact that she and willingly left him alone. The hardest part would be giving her the chance to earn it back in the first place. Their conversation had been a test on Harry's control because he had wished to do nothing more that walk away when she had first spoken to him. She still tried to talk with him as if nothing had changed and the first step in the process of healing what they had was definitely getting her to understand that he just couldn't talk with her in the same way that they did before. Forcing it to the back of his mind he made his way towards his next opponent which just who happened to be his boss.

When he got to the platform he saw that Croaker was already there waiting for him. He knew that he could beat Croaker, but that man was tricky. Shedding his battle robes All of Harry's weapons were in view of the public and most of them let out gasps. A wand on each arm, Harry had a long katana strapped to his back, five throwing knives on each hip, six shuriken down his back, and two tomahawk on the sides of his calves Harry looked like he was ready to go to war with a small army at any second. They watched as Croaker also dropped his heavier robes to show that he was as armed as Harry was. Without waiting for the judge to start the match they both started dueling with a ferocity that had been absent in the previous round. This is how high caliber Unspeakables battled and it made most of the people in the crowd never want to run into one in a dark ally.

Batting a few of Croaker's nastier spells back at him, Harry high jumped into the air and conjured a large flaming Basilisk, not unsimilar to the one that Voldemort cast in the ministry, and hissed at it to attack Croaker. Seeing the giant flaming serpent coming towards him, he shouted an incantation and a large vortex of wind swallowed the snake and the flames shot up creating a large flaming tornado which was heading back towards Harry who sheathed both of his wand and drew his katana. With a downward slash the tornado dispersed and Harry lunged at Coraker who had already drew the two short swords that were strapped to his back. Shooting a blast of magical energy out of the tip of his sword which Croaker deflected Harry had to dodge out of the way as two short swords entered the place where where he used to be.

The crowd watched in both fear and awe as the two slashed, hacked, paired, and dodged out of the way each time the other attacked. Croaker seemed to have the advantage with his two swords but no matter how fast or powerfully he saw able to swing his sword Harry's katana was their to deflect it with minimal effort. Decided to do something a bit risky Harry didn't deflect the next jab that came towards him but instead waited until the last second to move just out of the way. Before he could react Harry clamped his open arm to his side trapping one of Croaker's blades in his armpit and sent out a kick towards his other arm, making him drop his other sword in the process. Twisting his body Harry threw a shoulder into Croaker's chest and disarmed his trapped sword. Not giving the older man a chance to get his footing back Harry shot an over powered stunner at the stumbling man who crashed to the ground. Binding him for good measure, He put his sword back onto his back and drew his wand which he pointed at the man until the judge declared that Harry was the winner.

Harry revived his boss and after removing his binds he gave the man a pat on the back. " That was a nice little battle that we had there."

" Yeah but I think that we broke the crowd." Croaker said when he noticed that they were getting blank stare from most of the audience. In the background they could both hear and announcer yelling 'And what else would expect from the man who defeated You-Know-Who himself'

Croaker gave him a cheeky grin and Harry ran his hand down his face. " I don't know what's worse, the fact that they thought that I was this skilled when I fought that bastard or that they still can't say his name."

" Definitely that they thought that you were this skilled. You were damn good don't get me wrong but you are in a caliber that few can boast about. By the time that you' were my age I would hate to face you." He said as they stepped down. They walked and talked as they moved towards the competitor area. They were being given a thirty minute rest since they didn't want anyone to blame exhaustion on losing a match. Going into the tent that saw that there were refreshments and drinks sitting out on the tables along with chair's scattered about. Most of them were in use while the beaten competitors were talking among themselves about some of the duels. It seemed that Hermione, McGonagall, Harry, and Neville would be going into the next round.

Hermione and dueled Luna which was the quickest duel of this stage. Luna's advantage in the last round was null-in-void against Hermione superior casting, dodging, and just as wide knowledge of spells. Hermione said that it was a good duel, but most could see that she was just trying to make Luna feel better even though she didn't seem upset by the lost in any way shape or form. Neville on the other hand claimed that he had won completely on luck. Hermione had not been exaggerating when she said that Griphon was the American version of Dumbledore. Neville had been just skilled enough to stay on the defensive after the first few spells had been cast. It was only when Griphon used a lightning spell that hit the water he had been stepping in was he defeated. The man sheepishly rubbed his hand on the the back of his head and gave the group a goofy grin. Minerva dueled another Unspeakable so no one was surprised that shew as one of the last four. The most impressive fight had been hands down Harry and Croaker's. As they talked Harry sat as far away from Hermione as possible, only putting his two cents in every once in a while. This was something that didn't go unnoticed by the people in the tent but Harry was far from sharing pleasantries with her. Some discussion had to be made but overall he still didn't want much to do with her. He was shaken from his thoughts when the bell signaling the second half of the tournament rang out inside the tent.

**A/N- Hope you like it. Review and hopefully the next one will be on time. Love you guys. **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N- Hello my little lovelies. I am back with another action packed chapter. I hope that you all have a wonderful time reading it and if you dont want to read my little rant the feel free to skip ahead but I feel like there are a few things that I need to clear up. I never once thought that I would see someone defending Hermione's part in this story but life works in mysterious ways. Someone I only know as guest has given me two reviews telling me how annoying Harry is. While I respectively disagree I want to thank him so much as that is more than some of the he 200 sum followers this story has gain, have given me. And you are wrong about one point, Hermione cut ties with everyone not just Harry and that had nothing to do with him storming out. Ive stated in the story that she didn't want anyone to know where she was at. Neither of them were right in what they did but after everything that happened you should be glad he didn't end up going berserk. He just lost Everything and everyone he looked up to and she was leaving so she could do the same thing she always does, try and prove that she is better and doesn't need peoples help. Hell she had people at the Ministry who would have begged her to take a job when the war was over. Top of almost all of her classes, a walking tome of knowledge, and very powerful in her own right. But because she couldn't see past her need to prove everything she left not just Harry but EVERYONE. The way I see it Harry had every right to be that pissed off. He has had four years to dwell on everything and is much more mature than he was then. He is upset but it take a lot of energy to hold on the the emotions he was carrying for the first year, and when it became to much he almost died. After that he found out it was better to try and let it go. He is still very hurt and sad that she left but after four years he steeled himself up and the harsh, ass hole persona is a defense so he doesn't have to deal with losing people again. Sorry for the rant but I like to have things cleared up. You probably still wont agree with me but it my story and he isn't changing for a while. Ok, read on my minions, read on. **

The second round of dueling was being highly anticipated as the competitors left the seclusion of their tent. The first round had stunned most of the people watching and now that only the best were left, they were expecting to see some amazing things. For the first fight many of the people in the crowd were conflicted on who to cheer for as Harry and Hermione's names came up on the parchment. For the most part Harry was quite disturbed by this fact even though he knew there was a change that they were going to end up facing each other. One he was hardly comfortable enough to talk to her let alone take her on in a full on duel. Stealing himself he knew that it would have to be done and if he was to back down from this then all of the year's giving most of the world a cold shoulder would have been for nothing.

Another reason that he didn't want to duel her is because he wanted another shot at Neville. This time he wanted Neville to be on his best game instead of surprised attacked. Neville had gotten lucky that today was the tournament because it would have been the first day of Harry's advanced training. Harry was going to test his skill and if he was up to par when they dueled then he would have taken back the forced training for the time being. He would have to watch Neville when he was dueling Minerva to make his decision. Neville would have a hard time trying to battle against someone that he used to look up to, and the fact that it was his head of house would make it even more difficult for the boy. One of the things the Harry instilled into Neville was the it didn't matter who the enemy was, it they were firing at you then you had better fire back. It would soon be time to see if he had taken the lesson to heart. Since it was the final rounds they wanted everyone to be able to see both duels so Harry and Hermione would go first with Neville and McGonagall going after them.

When he came to his place on the platform he could see that while Hermione was holding her head high with a determined look on her faced, her eyes were just as scared as the time that he had saved her from the troll. It was something that shocked him down to his very core when he realised it. Hermione was terrified of the notion of dueling him, and even through the anger and pain that he had bottled up inside, he was sad that she could ever be that afraid of him. He knew that the biggest part of it would have to be when he lost his temper with Neville. She held Neville at such a high regard and she had watched him tear her standards to shreds. Those eye's said everything that she wouldn't, he was no longer the person that she looked to for security and safety, the one that made sure everything was alright. No he was someone that was to be feared, to be weary of and cautious around. She no longer knew him as Harry and understanding that had him fighting the stinging in his eyes.

They both bowed bowed to each other and with a quick motion he brought up his wand and he noticed as she gave a small flinch that he was sure no one else saw. His second of hesitation forced to him to deflect the first wave of spells that she was sending at him, all were powerful, and each were meant to incapacitate him in some way shape or form. Two bone breakers were aimed for his legs, three blasting hexes, a very powerful sleeping charm, and a huge swarm of birds came from her wand as she tried everything that she could think of to distract him or take him out of the game. She knew that she wouldn't be able to overpower him so she planned on using very precise spellwork with a large variation of spells in quick order to throw him off, all in all it was a very Hermione like strategy. Blocking the bone breakers he sent the blasting hexes back at her at double the normal speed and with a wave of his wand he changed the birds into blades that he banished towards her. Pumping magic into her legs she jumped over both of the hexes and did something that Harry didn't expect. She summoned the blades out of the path that they were on and she caught all of them with amazing reflexes. Harry started firing curses as she ducked and weaved while every so often throwing one of the blades into and incoming spell.

It seemed that she had became skilled with the blade in her time in America, though the thought really shouldn't surprise him. Hermione had a winning streak that she hated to break and adding a muggle skill to her armory was something that she would more than likely do. He wondered what other skills she had and he planned to find out. Doing the same as Hermione, he let his magic enter his appendages and made a dash towards her. She started throwing the last of the knives that she had but he quickly pulled the shuriken out and countered each knife that she had thrown. He ran in a half arch and came at her from the side with amazing speed aiming a wild but accurate kick to her side that he was happy to see that she blocked, and there began their graceful dance.

This was a type of dueling in its own form, using magic to augment your body in ways that it made it work far past what it's normal maximum was. Each pulsed with magic as they punched, kicked, dodged, and deflected each others punches. Hermione was using what Harry could guess was her own form of Tiger style kung fu which could be painful effective. Harry unsurprisingly was using his own drunken style which consisted of wild and unpredictable movements meant to confuse his opponent. Usually no one would have lasted as long as they had against him while he was fighting hand to hand like he was but it gave him even more insight to why Croaker wanted her in the first place. Hermione was smart, she didn't stick to casting spells very long knowing that he was clearly the superior in that field. Instead she was using a variety of different attacks to even the playing field a bit. She aimed a blow towards his head and that is where he got his advantage. Moving slightly to the left he grabbed her arm and used her own power to bring her into a knee that knocked the wind out of her. As she gasped for breath he quickly used the palm of his hand to strike her in the side of the neck just below the ear. He saw her eyes close and as she started to fall he caught her and set her down on the ground. Once he had the go ahead head woke her up and when she saw him he felt her jump slightly in his hands. Before anything could be said he let her go and walked off of the platform disappearing into the cheering crowd.

She saw the pained look on his face when he had felt her jump and she knew that he saw right past the facade that she was putting on. When she had seen his and her name on the parchment it had taken all of her training no to let her legs give out from underneath her. There was no way that she was going to be able to take him head on and she knew that. He was dominating Neville with little problem, and even with her doing her best to hold him off he batted her spells away like she was a first year. The only thing that came to her mind at the time was trying to mix up her attack plan to use more than just casting spells at each other. Now she saw that even that wasn't enough to overcome him. His casting was just as fast as hers was, he reflexes were sharper, his aim with a blade even more accurate, and his fighting style was too hard for her to counter. All in all it was over from the start, from the looks of it Harry knew that she was afraid of him and if she was correct that meant that he probably toned down the battle a bit to not give her a reason to be more scared of him. By the time that she finally made to ground level he was too far away for her to see him through all of the people who were moving about. After a while she had to give up her look and find a spot to watch Neville and Mcgonagall's duel. This would definitely be something to watch, Neville was a powerhouse with a skill level to wield it as he pleased, but his pure lack of experience left him at a huge disadvantage. Even keeping check on the worlds dark lord population hardly put a dent in the years of teaching and the two wars that McGonagall had been in. She wasn't the second in command when Dumbledore was around for nothing and her power was just as powerful if not a just a tad bit less than Neville's was.

The two gave each other the formal bows of a dueling before they both nodded and started the duel. Neville started right off the bat with a few nasty looking hexes that shot towards her like a rocket. Harry was never so proud of his old transfiguration teach as when she transfigured a medium sized stone into a metallic shield that she caught when she stomped on the edge sending it up into the air. It wasn't a normal looking shield though, and that is what made him so proud of her. A few years back he decided to introduce her to some of the muggle world so he got her a couple of comic books as a gag gift. Much to his surprise the next time that he had seen her she asked where she could get some more. Her favorite was none other than Captain America which he found very ironic since his name was the name of a totally different country.

The silver, red and, blue shield deflected every spell that was sent at it. Ducking under a very clever vanishing curse she threw the shield at Neville and transfigured it into a wolf that charged him. Pointing his wand at the ground he cast a spell and the crowd watched as a large vine came out of the ground and grabbed the wolf. He had little time to react as two ten foot golems flanked him from each side. Both of them swing their giant swords trying to cleave him into three pieces but he jumped into the air and they passed by while he was suspended horizontal to the ground for just a split second. Landing in a crouch he jumped up the large stone creatures while always finding a place to put his foot on next. He jumped off the knee of one and cast a demolishing hex at it sending it flying backwards while he continuously shot over powered blasting hexes at the torso and head of the other. I darker severing spell cut the golems arm clean off and he instantly banished the sword that it was holding towards McGonagall. She jumped out of the way as the sword flew towards her but she summoned it back with and over amount of force and watched it sail over her head as it continued towards Neville. Only a quick bit of magic stopped the stone sword from hitting him full force. Again aiming to the ground a two foot think wall of ground raised up to block the sword but while it did stop it from impaling Neville the wall exploded in a loud bam and Neville who was unfortunately on the other side of the blast, was thrown back. Iron chain wove themselves around him while his own clothes turned into straitjacket making it impossible for him to move. A stunner ended his thrashing about trying to get out and once she gave the judge a bow and was given the ok she undid the bindings and woke him up.

" You did extremely well Mr. Longbottom, that was one of the funnest times that ive had for a while. I look forward to the next time that we cross wands, I dare say that I might not be so lucky the second time." She said giving him a smile.

Smiling proudly at his used to be professor he answered. " No need to be so modest. You are an excellent duelist and thats just the way that it is. It was a close fight but dont sell yourself short on my behalf. Just give Harry hell for me, god knows that if he didn't like what he saw when I was dueling you he is going to be giving it to me."

"Yes, I am very much looking forward the last duel. I dont think that the outcome will be the same of me and your battle. From what ive seen of Harry he is in a league all by himself." She laughed

Neville could only agree with her. In pure power alone Harry stood out above the rest as this generations Albus Dumbledore. By the time that Harry reached the age that Albus did there would be no one able to stand up to him. His power would continue to grow until his full maturity around the age of forty or even fifty and by then his skill and knowledge would have only grown until he could make Albus look mediocre. He could only think of the thing that the man that he had come to know so well would be able to do with all of that time and power. It was a known fact that the more powerful your magical core was the longer that you would live. Harry's was already slightly larger than Dumbledore's and on the same level of Voldemort's at the height of his power. Harry could single handedly change the face of the entire wizarding world with that type of power and influence. The-boy-who-lived and the Savior of the wizarding world were only two of his titles but those alone were enough to sway about anything he wanted his way.

Harry had been watching and he had been very pleased by his students dueling and nimble movements, and that stunt about jumping horizontal to the ground to avoid the swords was just as reckless as anything Harry would have done. He made the mental note to save that move to memory just incase something similar came up at a later date. Mentally preparing himself for the upcoming battle he walked up the platform with an emotionless expression on his face. Pulling out his wand he gave his old teacher a bow.

" Do not go easy on me now professor, for I will not give you the same courtesy." He said.

" You will not have to worry about that from me Mr. Potter. How could I not go harder for one of my greatest students?" She said unleashing a large wave of spells without waiting for the judge to give the go ahead.

Harry threw up a shield just in time as the spells hit it with the force of rocket. He grit his teeth and pushed more power into his shield but cracks were started to form and branch out from the center. Dropping the shield before it crashed down on him he started doing what he did where Hermione was trying to defend Neville. Using the spells on momentum instead of blocking them he just sent them flying in a different direction. A few of them made their ways back towards the person who had cast them but even as she dodged the assault never ended. He blasted a volley of spells out of his wand but instead of them being at his old professor it was at the ground in between them causing a large cloud of dirt to shoot into the air. Breaking her line of sight he transformed into a bloodhound using his nose to find his target since his eyes were useless for the moment. He could smell her but something was off, he could make out the smell of her tabby cat form but there was something else something a lot more predatory. All of a sudden a beastly roar echoed from the other side of the dust cloud and Harry's much smaller bloodhound body had to dodge out of the way as a Siberian tiger pounced where he used to be. Focusing his smaller body started to shift into a larger one and soon a large shadow wolf was standing face to face with the tiger.

He wasn't too surprised that McGonagall and made the same breakthrough with her Animagus form as had the transfiguration master that works as an Unspeakable. She figured out that if you had an animagus from then if you were skilled enough it was possible to have a second form that was in the same family as your first. Then in an almost impossible case you could have a third like Harry did, but even for him it was painful and it was not an instantaneous transformation like his other ones. Of course the pain was probably because it was so much larger than he normally was. It was his failsafe with dealing with other large creatures that would take too much time and magic to deal with. As the dust settled the crowd watched to two alfa-predators sizing each other up. The tiger was the longer and thicker of the two but the wolf was taller and it figure was built for pure speed and power. They both ran each other with amazing speed and when they collided a loud pounding sound rang out. In a mess of teeth, claws, and pure animalistic power the two fought on equal ground with Harry being able to use his more powerful strength to counter balance McGonagall's much heavier weight. After a few minutes they both reverted into their human forms both heaving in large breaths and dripping small amounts of blood from various wounds that they had acquired when they fought.

A second later the spells started flying again, and Harry was forced to draw his second wand in order to keep up with the woman on the other side of the platform. She was using a technique that they taught the more advanced Unspeakables but he had never seen it used at such a pace or with such ease. Multicasting was a very hard and very precise type of casting that infused multiple types of casting into a very deadly skill. Mixing silent casting, point casting, and double casting you were able to cast spells faster than any other type. You first had to learn how to cast silently since you couldn't cast two spells if you were only saying the name of one of them. Secondly you had to learn how to double cast which was chaining usually two spells together through wand movements that could be woven together, if you were extremely skilled in Double casting you might be able to get three spells chained together. Lastly you learn how to point cast which was by far the hardest to learn to do. Since most spells are based on their runic properties at least some of rune is almost always required as part of the wand movement to make the spell effective. Learning how to overcome this and cast based purely on will and intent was something that most wizards found impossible, but if you could get it down then you had and unimaginable advantage. Add all of those together and you had multicasting. Harry himself could cast four spells at the same time with multicasting and never saw a reason to try to add more since there were so few people who could do it but McGonagall was casting six with her wand to Harry's eight with two wands and he was extremely impressed. Croaker could only do four at a time like Harry so for her to one up them both she deserved her props. She cast a spell that caused the dust to rise and form a humanoid shape. It quickly gain a more defined shape as it solidified and Harry watched the seven foot tall soldier draw a large battle axe and rush at him. This was something that Harry really didn't want anyone not to know about but he had promised not to hold back and it was obvious that she wasn't, so he used his secret weapon. A bolt of lightning dropped to the ground and people gasped as the bolt took a similar shape to the sand soldier that was running full force towards Harry.

The electrical being brought out a Kanana and deflected the axe swing, Harry watched as the sand that made up the axe turned to glass. Another slash of the katana and the axe shattered into tiny shards. It wasn't long before all that was left of the sand soldier was a pile of glass. The lighting creature started to make its way towards the professor and no matter what spells she shot towards it they all seemed to just be absorbed by the thing. Making a risky move she conjured a steel pipe and banished it at the the monster. It let out a horrible screech as the pip shot through it and embedded into the ground at its feet. The electricity was conducted into the pipe and released into the ground below. Once it was gone she noticed that Harry had disappeared. She cursed herself as she realized that it was only a distraction to keep her busy and she spun in time to catch a powerful stunner to the chest. He summoned her wand and bound her arms to her sides. It would not surprise him if she also knew a bit wandless magic as well and he would rather be safe than sorry. After he got the nod from the obviously shocked judge he woke up his professor and helped her to her feet.

" An lighting elemental Harry? Out of all of the power that I would have thought you to have, and elemental was not one of them." She smiled as they watched all of the other contenders coming up to the stage.

He replied, " Well I really had been saving it as an ace in the hole if I ever had to use it but we agreed no holding back so I figured there was no better time to show the world what I could do. And you're one to talk about unexpected, ive never seen someone multicasting like that. Six spells at one time is the most that ive ever even heard of."

" At least you know how to do it Harry. That alone is a testament to how powerful and skilled you really are. I have no doubt that you could cast far more than six at a time with the right practice, you just never pushed yourself passed four. After living through two wars I pushed all of my abilities to the farthest i could get them." He just nodded as he let her words kick in. In pure power he could overpower her with moderate problems but she had just proved something to him that he had forgotten. No matter how much you learn, someone out there is better than you. Determination ran cold through his veins, he had thought that he had learned all that he needed to be best but he had some serious training to do.

He was only broken out of his thoughts when someone came up to him and placed a first place medal around his head. He was congratulated and after a few pictured for the newspapers he was well ready to be able to sit down. Harry lead the group back into the tent and let out a long breath as the cooling charms had left the inside at a nice temperature for those coming from the dueling platform. They sat around talking about how wonderful that last duels had been and a few people were giving him crap about being an elemental and not telling them about it. Ron, the twins, and Neville were the worst about this as most of the girls laughed, or in Hermione's case tried to make herself become one with the chair she was sitting in. Not seeing any reason to leave the comfort of the tent they all star around as slowly one by one they all seemed to have one reason or another to leave. A few hours later only Harry, Ron, McGonagall, and Griphon were left.

" Alright gentlemen I think that I t is about time for me to head back up to the school. It is about time for dinner and I think that I could use a double helping after all of the energy that I used today." she said and everyone agreed. They all got up and headed toward the exit when McGonagall remembered that she had left her spectacles on the arm of one of the chairs. Turning back to get it she noticed the Gryphon who had take up the back had his wand out and pointed towards Harry. In a flash she pulled out her wand and a banisher shot past Harry's head and seen him flying into one of the post holding up the enlarged tent. Spinning on his heals Harry shot two stunners and a body bind at the man.

"Thank you for that one professor. I cant believe that I almost let that bastard get me." Reaching into his robes he pulled a vial of clear substance out and waved it around. " Lets see who this bastard really is."


End file.
